Statement Of D21 President Fred Wertheimer On Collins/Manchin ECA Reform Proposal Released Today
A bipartisan group of Senators, led by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), released their proposal today to reform seriously flawed 19th-century laws that govern presidential elections. The laws include the Presidential Election Day Act of 1845 and the Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA), into which the 1845 Act was incorporated. Democracy 21 is pleased that the Senate group has developed and unveiled this bipartisan proposal which sets the stage for the Senate to move forward in addressing the problems with the 1845 Act and the ECA – problems that were dramatized by former President Donald Trump’s presidential coup attempt. The Collins/Manchin proposal should help ensure that any future presidential coup attempts will not succeed. The expected recommendations of the House Jan. 6th Committee also should be helpful in preventing efforts to steal a presidential election. The protections needed include effectively eliminating any ability for a state legislature to replace the presidential electors chosen by the voters on Election Day with electors chosen by the state legislature. They also include protecting against a rogue Governor or Secretary of State certifying the wrong electors or refusing to certify any electors. A presidential candidate adversely affected by such an action needs a specific cause of action to challenge a wrongful certification or a failure to certify, needs the right to get timely and expedited federal court review of any such challenge, and needs the right to get timely and effective relief. If the 1845 Act and the ECA are not fixed, a future presidential coup attempt is much more likely to succeed. Congress must act this year to effectively repair the 1845 Act and the Electoral Count Act to protect our democracy and the integrity of our presidential elections.
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